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Alterra Coffee is Coming to Riverwest

The City has decided to sell the foreclosed-upon property at 2941-2955 N. Humboldt Blvd. known as the Post Teldyne building to Alterra Coffee Roasters for a cafe and wholesale bakery. (Developer Andy Busalacchi had originally proposed putting a condo development on the property but those plans fell through). After months of negotiation, Alterra business partners Lincoln and Ward Fowler and Paul Miller agreed to buy the building from the city for $125,000. The building, which has been vacant for years, would also be used for office and warehouse space for Alterra, with additional space available for other uses. Mario Costantini of LaLune Collection furniture company on E. Burleigh Street and his son, Alex, have worked with Alterra to develop a bicycle recycling program through the YMCA, and Mario Costantini said the YMCA-Holton Youth Center is considering locating a bicycle sales and repair shop in the building to house the program, called “Bykes for Tykes.” The Alterra partners also hope to purchase the vacant brownfield just north of the building at 3009 N. Humboldt — a space the city is in the process of foreclosing on for tax delinquency — to use as a parking lot. Benjamin Timm from the Department of City Development (DCD) says DCD is applying to the Wisconsin DNR for site assessment grants to do soil and ground water testing on brownfield sites across the city. The patch of land at 3009 N. Humboldt is heavily polluted and will likely become a parking lot for the new Alterra building just south of the property, according to Ald. Mike D’Amato. “Paving it would probably be the safest use of that land,” he said. The $1.4 million development would be Alterra’s sixth cafe. D’Amato cites the deal as an “example of our effort to transform a neighborhood blight into a tremendous neighborhood asset.” Alterra envisions the Post Building location becoming a popular meeting place. “We are excited to continue Alterra’s tradition of recycling older buildings into new uses,” said Lincoln Fowler. “We think this will build upon recent development in Riverwest and provide a crossroads and meeting place for the surrounding neighborhoods.” The former gas station at the Post Building site will integrate outdoor patio and seating areas, extensive landscaping, and an outside ramp and deck for bicycle access.